What's in this guide?

What is Amazon?

Amazon is a US-based online retailer that started in 1994 selling books online. It has expanded massively over the years, now selling everything from its own branded tablets to washing powder to garden tools and pretty much everything in-between to a global audience. Australians have long been able to shop on Amazon.com, but 2017 has seen Amazon massively expand its Australian presence. Here's what you need to know to be a powerhouse Amazon Australia shopper.

What does Amazon sell?

In short, just about everything. Some of the most popular cateogies Amazon offers include:

Shopping on Amazon and your account

Do I need an account to purchase something from Amazon Australia?

Yes. Amazon manages all of its customer sales via an account, which is free to set up and incurs no ongoing charges. To create an Amazon account, all you need is an e-mail address or a mobile number and a password.

If you have an existing Amazon account for the US, UK or elsewhere, you can use the same login details.

When I buy from Amazon Australia, who am I buying from?

It depends what you're buying. In some cases, you will be purchasing from Amazon's Marketplace sellers which are independent small businesses. However, Amazon is also shipping goods directly from its own warehouses, including its own branded line of low-cost products, AmazonBasics range.

How do I pay for purchases on Amazon Australia?

Your account is linked to a purchase method which needs to be a credit card or debit card. You can edit this payment method at any time in your Amazon account.

While Amazon has experimented with bricks and mortar retail stores in the US, there's no sign of such plans in Australia, and in any case, it operates on digital cash only. There's no way to pay with physical cash, and that's not likely to change.

Will I still be able to order through international Amazon sites?

With the rollout of new laws governing GST on overseas purchases in July 2018, Amazon changed its policies regarding Aussies accessing international versions of its site such as Amazon US. From 1 July 2018, Australians trying to access international Amazon stores will be redirected to Amazon Australia. Those international stores won't deliver to Australian addresses either, so simply using a VPN to get around the geo-block won't do much good.

How do I contact Amazon AU?

If you have a question needing to be answered and it is not featured in the customer service section, you can put in a specific query to ask the Amazon AU team under 'Need more help?' which will lead you to the contact us page. There, it will direct you to choose either to phone or chat with a member of their team.

Shipping and delivery information

What is Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime is Amazon's subscription shipping service. It comes with numerous benefits such as access to Amazon Prime Video, but the key attraction is paying $59 per year to enable low cost or free shipping on all orders. Orders fulfilled by Amazon itself also benefit from a guaranteed 2-day delivery.This is slightly different to how Amazon Prime works in the US, where the promise is next-day delivery, but US subscribers also pay significantly more for their Amazon Prime subscription.

Amazon has even taken Prime a step further in the US with Prime Now. Customers can pay an additional US$7.99 and receive their purchases within the hour.

Is Amazon Prime available in Australia?

How long will deliveries from Amazon Australia take?

This will depend on where you live, what you're ordering and what you're prepared to pay. Priority delivery is available on the same day in capital cities, and within 1-3 days to many other locations. If you spend more than $49, you can qualify for free delivery, which will taken 3-10 days depending on your location. Here's the full breakdown:

Location

Priority speed

Priority cost

Expedited speed

Expedited cost

Free delivery speed

Cost

Sydney

1 business day

$9.99

2-3 business days

$5.99

3-7 business days

Free for orders $49+

Melbourne

1 business day

$9.99

2-3 business days

$5.99

3-7 business days

Free for orders $49+

Brisbane

1 business day

$9.99

2-3 business days

$5.99

3-7 business days

Free for orders $49+

Adelaide

1 business day

$9.99

2-3 business days

$5.99

3-7 business days

Free for orders $49+

Canberra

1 business day

$9.99

2-3 business days

$5.99

3-7 business days

Free for orders $49+

Perth

1-2 business days

$11.99

2-3 business days

$7.99

3-7 business days

Free for orders $49+

Major cities in NSW, VIC, SA

1-2 business days

$11.99

2-3 business days

$7.99

3-7 business days

Free for orders $49+

All other areas

1-3 business days

$19.99

3-7 business days

$9.99

7-10 business days

Free for orders $49+

Amazon Marketplace sellers have the option to sign up for Fulfilment by Amazon, which will mean Amazon handles all the seller's deliveries from their Melbourne warehouse. This could allow for quicker delivery time. However, signing up to this isn't compulsory. Check delivery times and costs with each seller before you make your purchase.

Where will Amazon Australia ship from?

Amazon is a retailer, but the secret to its success has long been its mastery of supply chain logistics, which sounds all kinds of impressive, but is basically just a fancy way of saying "they know how to efficiently ship stuff". For long-term customers using the US site to shop from, you'd be aware of the higher shipping costs to Australia in cases where Amazon would ship, or the even higher prices some shipping agents would charge to be middlemen in the equation.

Amazon has opened a fulfilment centre in Melbourne's Dandenong South for the shipping of goods across Australia. That's not a retail location, though, so don't make any plans for a family shopping trip. Interestingly, while physical goods will come from Melbourne, the Australian operation will actually be run from a head office in Sydney.

Selling on to Amazon Australia

The Amazon market is officially open. Find out what you need to know about selling on Amazon Australia.

What is Amazon Marketplace?

Amazon sells products it warehouses itself, but it also opens up its infrastructure for other merchants to retail through, including advertising of products through Amazon, financial transaction management and even use of Amazon's warehouse facilities where suitable.

Which businesses will be able to sell on Amazon Australia at launch?

According to the email sent to sellers, any seller which has passed the Seller Identity Verification will be part of the testing phase and should be prepared to receive orders from Thursday, 22 November.

How much does Amazon Australia charge its sellers?

The following fee structure is in place for sellers on the Amazon Australia Marketplace:

$49.95 fee to list products on Amazon.com.au

6-15% commission fee on top of sales. This fee is determined by the type of product you're selling.

How many products will Amazon sell?

A precise number of the product offerings for Amazon Australia is all but impossible given that it's not only launching its own retail offerings but also Amazon Marketplace locally. That could inflate the sheer number and range of products Amazon is offering through its local site markedly. One thing is certain, and that is that Amazon is unlikely to enter the local market with anything less than a significant splash.

Will Amazon also be selling its own products?

Yes. Amazon is selling its own branded goods, including the Kindle line of ereaders and tablets, as well as its own "AmazonBasics" line of self-branded low cost products covering everything from AV connection cables to exercise equipment.

Will Amazon affect local retail jobs?

One of the more contentious issues with the entry of Amazon into the local retail scene is the likely impact on retail jobs. In the US Amazon is a retailing giant and its impact on retail jobs has been quite marked, especially as the company favours automation over long-term staff hiring for most of its shipping tasks.

That being said, while Amazon has launched in other global markets, its effect in those places has been less pronounced than in its home market. Equally, while it may affect some bricks and mortar retailers, the possibilities for merchants selling through Amazon Marketplace could open up new job opportunities for some retailers.

47 Responses

Yes, you may place an order to Amazon Australia even if you are from the United Kingdom but you must check first the shipping information to confirm if they deliver in your country. Also, kindly take note of the costs as it will be an international shipping/ delivery.

I have sent to America for black lights because cannot buy them here in Aus. I still need 5 but with the money exchange difference cannot pay nearly double.
Can you provide 5 *solar black lights for glow in the dark pebbles please at Aussie $$$.
Around $25 each? or whatever is the price.

Thanks for getting in touch! While we review Amazon in our pages, it’s helpful to know that we neither work with them or answer for their company. It would be best to contact the customer service support of the seller of solar black lights directly for further assistance.

I had a Kindle book on pre-order, which I was notified would be downloaded today. The charge went through my credit card this morning. As yet the boook has not downloaded. Is there something I can do to get the book?

You may visit the Kindle Store to download and install Kindle. If you are using a computer, install the app for your version of Windows or Mac, and then use it to read ebooks. The process is the same for other devices; Kindle ebooks can be read on your laptop, smartphone, iPad or Android device, or even your browser. If you don’t see Kindle on your device, make sure you signed in with the Amazon account registered to your device.

If you have questions or you want to know more about your item’s status, it would be a good idea to directly get in touch with Amazon.

Hi Guys, I noticed $11.99 has been taken from my bank MasterCard. According to the order number, it was an Amazon Music Unlimited charge on the 22nd April. I did not place that order – can you please sort this problem out for me.

Thanks for reaching out to Finder! I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been charged an amount you didn’t authorise. While we’d be more than happy to help with your inquiry, we aren’t able to do this for you. We suggest contacting Amazon directly to sort this out.

My new Kindle was delivered to the wrong address and I now understand it has been sent to the Gateway facility of Australia Post. I have my tracking number. When will it be sent back to me at the correct address?

The items you mentioned could be purchased in Australia if there are sellers who would be posting it for the Australian Market. For now, you could check if the US amazon seller ships internationally for you to be able to purchase these items. Upon checking the Amazon AU website, “God’s own country is available at $14.69. Hope this helps!

Hello, I can not log into my Amazon account online. Just signed up with Amazon Australia, including the free trial of prime for 30 days. Every time I try to sign in I am told my password is not correct so then I opt for a code to be sent to my associated mobile no. I use this code & then a msg appears which says the page is not supported & gives me a link to the Amazon home page, which I then use only to go through the whole process again. Please help.

I’m sorry to hear about the problem you are having on accessing your Amazon account. I’m afraid I don’t have access to Amazon’s website or their database to look up your information, but I believe this will be best resolved by directly contacting Amazon instead. Their customer support would for sure be happy to assist you.

Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I’m sorry to hear about your situation.

If your parcel is missing, you would need to first check the status of your order. You can do this by logging into your Amazon account online. From there, you should know whether your parcel has been delivered or not. If it says the parcel has already been delivered but you haven’t received it yet, then I believe the best way to solve this problem is to contact Amazon directly.

I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.

Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. :)

While I can’t tell you the exact reason why your Amazon app won’t update, I can suggest that you check your Audible App. In most cases, Amazon app won’t update if you don’t install the Audible App first and keep it active.

If this doesn’t solve the problem, you might want to directly get in touch with Amazon’s app developers.

I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.

You may check the selection of DVDs and CDs of Gerard Joling by logging in directly to Amazon Australia’s website. Once there, you may type the item you are looking for via the search bar located at the top of the website. Just follow the steps required up until you complete the purchase. Hope this helps!

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